Editor’s note: Construction work on Illinois State’s Multicultural Center, along with other campus building projects, was put on hold in March, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Work on those projects will resume when appropriate in accordance with state guidelines and University return-to-work plans.
Illinois State University President Larry Dietz announced the location for the new campus Multicultural Center during his annual State of the University Address. The center will be located in the current Instructional Technology and Development Center, 301 S. Main Street, Normal.
The existing University-owned building provides a large and readily adaptable space for programming and services. “The Center will feature student organization office spaces, event and meeting rooms, a full kitchen, a meditation room, gathering spaces, administrative offices, and satellite student support services” said Dietz. “We look forward to this exciting new space coming to fruition over the course of the next year, and I’d like to thank everyone involved for turning this vision into a reality.”
Current plans call for the new Multicultural Center to be in place and functional by the fall of 2020.
Input from multiple campus stakeholders and information on multicultural centers at other campuses helped to shape the vision for Illinois State’s center. Last spring, the University’s Multicultural Center Taskforce made recommendations to the President’s Office regarding the spaces, services, and staffing for the center.
“Given our strong desire for the campus community to fully embrace our value of diversity and inclusion, the Multicultural Center Taskforce held focus groups across campus to obtain feedback from students, faculty, staff, and community members,” said Levester Johnson, Illinois State vice president for Student Affairs. “It was essential that many voices were represented throughout the process in order to identify the needs of our students and determine solutions to best meet those needs.”
The Instructional Technology and Development Center is currently the home of Illinois State University’s Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology (CTLT). During his State of the University Address, Dietz also announced that CTLT will be temporarily moved to Williams Hall, while a permanent CTLT space is created within Milner Library.
